Power of Positive Thinking Works Well for Heart
Health at Least for Men
Most women who rated their risk "low" were far more
accurate than the men
July
14, 2008 - Men, up to age 75, who believed they were at
lower-than-average risk for cardiovascular disease actually experienced
a three times lower incidence of death from heart attacks and strokes.
The data did not support the same conclusion among women, according to
University of Rochester Medical Center researcher Robert Gramling, M.D.,
D.Sc.
One possible explanation for the gender difference,
researchers said, is that the study began in 1990, a time when heart
disease was believed to be primarily a threat to men. Therefore, women's
judgments about how often heart attacks occur among average women might
have been disproportionately low.
The 15-year surveillance study involved 2,816
adults in New England between the ages of 35 and 75 who had no history
of heart disease. Researchers collected baseline data from 1990-1992;
outcomes were obtained from the National Death Index records through
December 2005.
Researchers were interested in measuring whether
optimistic perceptions of risk might protect people from the
fear-related coping behaviors (overeating comfort foods, too much
alcohol, or avoiding the doctor) or the stress that can be associated
with heart disease.
They asked people at the outset, "Compared with
persons of your own age and sex, how would you rate your risk of having
a heart attack or stroke in the next 5 years?"
Men's views were more discordant. Almost half of
the men who self-rated their risk to be "low" would have been classified
by objective medical tests as having "high" or "very high" risk.
Most women who rated their risk to be "low" were
far more accurate than the men.
"Clearly, holding optimistic perceptions of risk
has its advantages for men," said Gramling, an assistant professor of
Family Medicine and Community and Preventive Medicine.
If doctors are to accurately explain risks to
patients, it's important for them to first understand how people
perceive health risks. The study also pointed out that as genetic
testing and advanced imaging continues to offer individuals more
information about their future health, good communication is essential.
"It is not clear whether we should seek to disabuse
people of optimistic 'misperceptions' in pursuit of changing behavior."
Gramling said.
"Perhaps we should work on changing behaviors by
instilling more confidence in the capacity to prevent having a heart
attack, rather than raising fears about having one."
The study is published in the July-August issue of
Annals of Family Medicine.
Editors Notes:
The National Human Genome Research Institute (ELSI
branch) of the National Institutes of Health funded the study, which was
conducted when Gramling was a faculty member at Brown University's
Center for Primary Care and Prevention, Memorial Hospital in Rhode
Island. He recently joined the Rochester Center to Improve Communication
in Health Care, at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is
working on similar research funded by the National Institute of Nursing
Research of the NIH.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
July
14, 2008 - Men, up to age 75, who believed they were at
lower-than-average risk for cardiovascular disease actually experienced
a three times lower incidence of death from heart attacks and strokes.
The data did not support the same conclusion among women, according to
University of Rochester Medical Center researcher Robert Gramling, M.D.,
D.Sc. 